How Kadpoly is breathing again
The ever busy Kaduna Polytechnic is beginning to bubble once more. Cars were seen moving in and out of the campus, motor cycle riders were seen crowding the school gate as usual. Some traders doing business in the campuses were also seen to have resumed their business as photographers, stationeries merchants, business centres were […]
The ever busy Kaduna Polytechnic is beginning to bubble once more. Cars were seen moving in and out of the campus, motor cycle riders were seen crowding the school gate as usual.
Some traders doing business in the campuses were also seen to have resumed their business as photographers, stationeries merchants, business centres were beginning to pick up. Though some restaurants were opened, many still remain locked; even the few restaurants that were opened are complaining of low patronage.
Weekly Trust gathered that the population of students on campus is still low because lectures have not commenced. According to the reviewed 2010/2011 academic calendar signed by the registrar, Abdulkadir B. Abba, the academic board approved that 2010/2011 academic session commences from July 12, 2011. Lectures for continuing students are to commence on July 25, 2011 while lectures for PGD,HND, NDII (direct) and certificate students are to commence on September 1, 2011.
Students interviewed lamented the long break as a result of the strike even as they are eager to resume. A HND II student of Hotel and Catering Management, Emmanuel Emeka who as at the time of this report was undergoing his registration exercise told Weekly Trust that he is very eager to see lectures commence. Also Deborah Stephen, a new student of ND 1, computer Science said “I feel good because I have been waiting since December that I got the admission to resume lectures,” she enthused.
The lecturers on their own part are also demonstrating their willingness to resume work and even promise to work harder than before so that they can cover up for the time wasted. Weekly Trust also observed that both academic and non-academic staff of the school were on Wednesday seen carrying files undergoing a verification exercise termed ‘staff audit’. A circular placed on the notice board in the main campus jointly signed by the chairman and public relations officer of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), Kaduna Polytechnic branch, Comrade Isiyaku Sayyadi Malumfashi and Comrade Paul Iliya stated that in line with the recommendations of the white paper, staff audit is in progress and verification is slated for July 20th, 2011.
The decision by SSANIP, Kaduna Polytechnic chapter not to embark on the aborted warning strike that was intended for July 20, 2011 was for obvious reasons. The Acting Rector has just set his feet to begin the implementation of the federal government’s white paper and they would not want to disrupt the ongoing students’ registration and admission exercise.
Speaking to one of the lecturers who pleaded anonymity concerning the verification exercise, he said that it is essentially to authenticate the actual number of staff that is physically on ground in the institution. “It is a welcomed exercise because it is long overdue and it is intended to ascertain the actual workforce in Kaduna Polytechnic,” he said.
Businesses are also beginning to pick up as Kaduna Polytechnic resumes. A business centre owner, Mohammed Salawudeen popularly known as Baba expressed excitement about the return of students and staff to the campus stating that the period of the strike was a hard time for his business because students are his major patronisers adding that he has no other source of income.
“ In fact, I don’t even know how to cope with the person I rent the shop from whether he is going to consider the five to six months that there was practically no work to do on campus,” he explained.
It can be recalled that ASUP embarked on an indefinite strike action on January 28, 2011 over issues bordering on staff welfare, misappropriation of funds, injustice by the authorities and general decadence of the institution. The crisis crippled not only academic activities but also business activities within the school campuses.
Following the dissolution of both the governing council and the management of Kaduna Polytechnic by the Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Rukayyat Ahmed Rufai, and ASUP on June 27, 2011, a congress meeting held on July 11, 2011 called off the long strike action. The chairman of ASUP, Comrade Mustapha Bida who made the announcement noted that the new dawn in Kaduna Polytechnic was a victory for all.
The union however resolved that it will give the Acting Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic, Engineer Aminu Aliyu all the necessary cooperation for the institution to move forward, urging him to be firm, focused and redirect the vision and position Kaduna Polytechnic to the next level.
Meanwhile, Engineer Aminu Aliyu when he took over the mantle of leadership of the institution warned the staff of the school against gossip peddling, pledging to do his best in moving the school forward. “Everyone has a role to play in moving this school forward, if we work together as a team, we will succeed. But let me tell you that I will not entertain any gossip from anybody, so don’t come to my office for stories,’’ he reiterated.